Re: logfile subprocess and Fancy File Functions

Maybe we could allow unlink or rename if access() shows we own the file
or something.

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Bruce Momjian wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
> > Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us> writes:
> > > Agreed it should be relative to the log directory, which may or not be
> > > under PGDATA, and don't let them go up above it.  Is there any downside
> > > to allowing absolute reads as well because COPY can already read
> > > absolute files.
> >
> > Perhaps not from a security point of view, but I think it would be
> > rather bizarre for a general-purpose pg_read_file() function to default
> > to reading from the log directory.  From the point of view of having
> > a consistent API, it'd be better to call the functions something like
> > pg_read_logdirectory() and pg_read_logfile() and restrict them to the
> > log directory.  If we later decide we want to add a general
> > pg_read_file() operation, we won't have to contort its operation to
> > preserve compatibility with the log-fetching case.
>
> OK. There isn't much of value in $PGDATA anyway to read except the
> config files, which have limited value.
>
> I did think a file system walker application written using SQL would be
> cool, but not if it is going to make us less secure.  I don't think it
> does, but adding the function when no one is asking for it seems
> backwards.
>
> One issue is that the log files might be in /var/log with other server
> logs.
>
> --
>   Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us
>   pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 359-1001
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--
  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us
  pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 359-1001
  +  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road
  +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073